The Year-long Drama Ended When I Looked Inward

(Minghui.org) Zheng is in his 80s and has excelled in many aspects of cultivation. He can recite Master’s poems from Hong Yin to Hong Yin IV. When it comes to clarifying the truth and rescuing arrested practitioners from police stations, he’s outstanding in many ways. However, the relationship with his daughter-in-law, who also practiced Falun Dafa, was tense. Instead of looking inward and improving themselves, they both pointed fingers at each other.

Zheng wanted to create an environment for his daughter-in-law to study the Fa with a group. He invited me and another practitioner to his home to study the Fa with him and his daughter-in-law. Every time we came we saw the same drama play out: Zheng and his daughter-in-law both pointed out each other’s shortcomings and problems in their cultivation.

Improving While Seeing Other’s Shortcomings

I kept trying to encourage them to look inward and cultivate themselves. I also showed Zheng’s daughter-in-law how to find Master’s related teachings and practitioners’ sharing articles on the Minghui website. Zheng was not good at using the computer, so I told him which books and sections to read and printed out some related experience sharing articles for him.

Zheng’s daughter-in-law was kind-hearted, and Zheng’s relationship with her was more like father and daughter, with no barriers between them, and they could express their ideas to each other freely. Although she was a new practitioner, Zheng’s daughter-in-law studied the Fa diligently every day, read sharing articles, and looked inward. But because she was a new practitioner, she hadn’t finished reading all of the Fa teachings and didn’t have a good understanding in some areas, which is understandable as cultivation is a gradual process.

Every time I went to their home, both of them kept pointing out each other’s faults. I didn’t look inward either. Instead, it reminded me of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fighting culture—a tendency to target and criticize others. I didn’t realize that it was actually reflecting something I needed to cultivate in myself.

During a major COVID outbreak I experienced some virus symptoms in late 2022. One day, I remembered Master’s teachings that the CCP virus targets “CCP members,” which made me think there might still be remnants of the CCP’s toxins in my body. I proactively eliminated them by reading the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The next morning, the symptoms were gone.

Zheng, on the other hand, had severe symptoms of COVID. I suggested that they both read the Nine Commentaries. I observed that Zheng’s daughter-in-law was genuinely working on improving herself and making positive changes. However, Zheng was still complaining about his daughter-in-law and focusing on her faults.

I felt that Zheng still didn’t look inward after we studied the Fa together for a year. I thought that I should let it go and it might be for me to cultivate. I knew that I had some remnants of CCP culture in me, so I felt it was a reminder for me to improve myself. Additionally, something happened with another family downstairs of Zhang’s apartment, so I discussed with the other practitioner that we should temporarily avoid going there, and she agreed.

During the following Fa study, we discussed the temporary suspension of our visits. However, this time Zheng didn’t complain about his daughter-in-law. Instead, he happily said, “After I looked inward, she changed!”

After self-reflection, I understood that Zheng had looked outward at his daughter-in-law, while I had constantly looked outward at Zheng—we were the same. Master arranged this to help me see my habit of looking outward. This whole scenario was meant for me to understand to look inward. I watched this play unfold for a year without realizing that I was the main character in the play. The moment I started to look inward, the play came to an end!

How much effort Master has put in for us to remove our attachments!? This is only what I saw on the surface. Master told us everything in the Fa, but our human notions are blocking us, and preventing us from understanding.

Look Inward When Seeing Other Practitioners’ Shortcomings

As I memorized the Fa, I came across this sentence in Lecture Nine of Zhuan Falun, “If you could make it today, you would now be a Buddha.” It struck me like lightning, and I suddenly enlightened. This sentence ends with a period, indicating that it’s a statement. It’s not a question, as I previously thought. So why did I fail to enlighten the first time?

Why didn’t I rectify myself when I saw another practitioner’s shortcomings? Why did I look outward and focus on them? I remembered another passage of Master’s Fa,

“Did he see it? He did, but what he saw was not its true state. Why? It is because his level was not high enough, and what he was shown was only the manifestation of the Buddha Fa at his level.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

I understood. If I didn’t see the positive aspects of a practitioner, it meant that my level was low, and what manifested as their shortcomings was precisely the state of my own cultivation. I should first cultivate myself and then kindly remind them. I still haven’t let go of the attachment to looking at others. I should unconditionally cultivate myself.

I have been cultivating for over 20 years, and Fa-rectification is now in its final stages, and could end at any moment. If I continue to cultivate as I did in the past, it might be challenging, and I could miss many opportunities. I’m determined to meet Master’s requirements and achieve what’s needed. I should live up to Master’s expectations.

This is my understanding, please kindly point out anything that is not on the Fa.